outstand

American  

[out-stand] / ˌaʊtˈstænd /

verb (used without object)

outstood, outstanding

1. to be prominent.

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verb (used with object)

outstood, outstanding

1. to stay or remain beyond.

   to outstand the hour.

outstand British  

/ ˌaʊtˈstænd /

verb

1. (intr) to be outstanding or excel

2. (intr) nautical to stand out to sea

3. archaic (tr) to last beyond

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Usage

What does outstand mean? To outstand is to stay or remain beyond, as in Mattie outstood the rain during the long hike and managed to reach the end. To outstand is also to be prominent or surpassing. When you outstand someone else, you are more prominent, conspicuous, or striking than the other person (go, you!). You might outstand someone in terms of social status, physical size, beauty, charisma, or anything else you might compare people about. Example: Mateo really outstood at the competition tonight.

Etymology

Origin of outstand

First recorded in 1565–75; out- + stand

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outstand outstanding outstood

Bad press notices and the lack of any outstand ing talent other than Clark & McCullough put Here Goes the Bride into the past tense.

From Time Magazine Archive

Would the foundations of the house outstand it?

From Sir Gibbie by MacDonald, George

City director of football Hugo Viana described Anderson as "one of the outstanding young midfield talents in the world".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Some of those colleges are outstanding academically, but they’re also extraordinarily expensive.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

“A full medical assessment is currently underway, and the patient is receiving outstanding veterinary care from our team,” the Ojai center posted on its Facebook page Monday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Jersey Mike’s said it would have more than 317.6 million shares outstanding after the IPO, for a market capitalization of about $7.94 billion at the $25-a-share high end of the pricing range.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

For there was one other factor: Ernest had forged a partnership with an outstanding young scientist who was building his own international reputation as a theoretical physicist.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

This was most unjust, for Cadet Wilson outstood in baseball and lacrosse as well as football.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fig-tree here mentioned was blessed with the application of means, had time allowed it to receive the nourishment; but it outstood, withstood, overstood all, all that the husbandman did, all that the vine-dresser did.

From Works of John Bunyan — Volume 03 by Bunyan, John

I have outstood my time; which is material To the tender of our present.

From Cymbeline by Shakespeare, William

They have outstood centuries of raging storm and rending earthquake.

From The Splendid Idle Forties Stories of Old California by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn